Hearts Ablaze
by EchoEternal
Summary: Slash-fic, M/M. While Ash is off in Unova, his Pokemon at Oak's Lab continue to train themselves. His Infernape, recently added to the Lab's roster, manages to get into a odd practice battle with his Sceptile, creating a new experience for themselves and the other Pokemon. One-shot; post-Diamond/Pearl series.


**Author:** Hello! This fanfic was a request that I was given on Tumblr as the first prize of a giveaway that I held. The winner wanted Ash's Infernape and Sceptile to have a "ho yay / foe yay" type of relationship. Also, the bonus goal of having Ash's other Pokemon surprised, and disgusted, by the pair's sudden new romance. So, I stepped it up a little from there and created this! And now, I've decided to share it on the Pokemon archive, too!

Fair warning: It is a gay pairing, so if you don't like that, don't read. If you're open-minded, please continue!

Also: I've decided that this will be set not long after the end of the _Diamond and Pearl_ series, since that time period seemed to make the most sense. (Though, there are additional references to past series and plots.) So, Ash is off in Unova, while the Pokemon are at Oak's Laboratory. And with that, don't expect any Unova or Kalos Pokemon. Also, I did exclude humans and gave Pokemon human speech, because it worked.

That should be everything for before the fic. Anyway, enjoy this one-shot!

* * *

 _Everything just sort of snowballed as one thing led to the next._

Waking up, Infernape shook his head, quickly glancing around the interior of the Pokemon Laboratory. It was a place owned by the Professor Oak, who often helped his trainer, Ash. Silver shelves lined the blank white walls and the similarly designed floors chilled the fire ape's bare feet. Empty Poke Balls lined the shelves and Infernape listened as footsteps faintly disappeared from the room, leading into a hall away, further inside.

"Dude, relax."

Infernape whirled around to find an orange sea weasel stretching. He let his two tails drag on the floor as smirked at the monkey.

"We've already been here a few days, Infernape." Buizel yawned. "Pretty sure that you should stop freaking out when we wake up every morning."

"I'm not freaked out," snapped Infernape. He lowered his shoulders and hugged himself. "…But this floor is still too cold for me."

"You want cold? Trying jumping in the lake sometime."

"N-No way, I'm with Infernape on this one! It's freezing in here."

The two turned as a purple fanged scorpion stepped forward. His black wings covered his body, as he shivered from the environment. Still, he had his tongue sticking out from the side of his mouth.

"Gliscor, you're always cold," mocked Buizel.

"Am not!"

"Are t-t-too." Buizel shook his body while sticking his tongue out, making fun of Gliscor.

"Quit that!"

"Make me."

"Seriously, Buizel," boomed a deeper voice from the outer doorway. "Knock it off."

The group turned to see a massive turtle with a tree on its back standing by the open door, with the sun peering in past him. He gave Buizel an annoyed look as the weasel stepped up to him.

"Torterra, you used to be way cooler than this." Buizel folded his arms, in his typical pose. "Then you got bigger, slower, and more boring."

"If that's what you think of maturing, then yeah, I'm guilty." He stepped aside to let the weasel pass by, soon followed by Gliscor, who opened his wings and flew off. Turning, Torterra peeked back at Infernape, who stretched his limbs once more. "You coming?"

"Yep! I'm looking for a battle today." Infernape clenched his fist. "Ash may not be around any more, but we've still got plenty of training to do!"

"Sure, you can do that," murmured Torterra. "I'm just looking to get some sunlight."

Watching Torterra trudge away, Infernape sighed. "Maybe Buizel wasn't far off the mark about him," he muttered under his breath.

With a shrug, Infernape strolled out to the Laboratory's superstructure, gazing at the diverse environment. There were rocky cliffs in the distance, and a grassy field with bushes and trees scattered around; a river was nearby, with a larger lake near the cliffs.

Smiling, Infernape watched a herd of thirty Tauros gallop along the opposite side of a wooden fence, while a dark black and white bird flew off after a shiny owl. A massive, bear-like Pokemon snored while Inferape walked passed him. He turned back as a small little blue alligator bounce on the sleeping Pokemon's belly, dancing around and kicking its feet.

"Maybe I should battle that one," considered Infernape. "Lively is good, at least."

Continuing, Infernape came across an orange tortoise with a black shell. Picking at grass, it coughed a bit and snorted out smoke from its nostrils, with black smoke billowing from its shell as well. With a grin, Infernape hurried over to it.

"Hey! You're another Fire type!" The tortoise turned, with squinted eyes, but concentrated on the ape that approached it. "You want to battle with me? I'm Infernape, and I'm looking for a challenge!"

"You want…to battle with me?" The Pokemon stared as Infernape nodded. Suddenly, the tortoise burst into hysteric crying. "WAH, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

"H-Hey, calm down!" Infernape reached out, but the tortoise only sobbed louder, with tears pouring from its eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! We don't have to battle!"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that!"

A pale yellow dinosaur stepped from behind a few bushes, with leaves around her neck. One larger leaf flapped atop her head as she approached Infernape and the crying tortoise.

"I'm Bayleef, and that's Torkoal," introduced the Grass Pokemon. "Torkoal just gets overly emotional, really, so no need to worry about the water works."

"Ah, ok." Infernape tilted his head and then jabbed a finger forward. "Then, how about you? Want to battle me? Let's go!"

"Um, I'd love to, but I promised Bulbasaur that I would help him with some gardening." She sighed, but then winked at Infernape. "Lucky for you, because I'd take you down, for sure."

"Ha, we'll see the next time you're free!"

He wandered away from her and waved as Bayleef used her vines to sooth the still sobbing Torkoal. Not watching where he was going, Infernape stumbled too far forward and smacked straight into a tree. With a yelp, he pulled back from it and rubbed his head, nursing his fresh pain.

"Ouch."

"Heh. Maybe next time, you'll watch where you're going, little guy."

Annoyed, Infernape glared up the tree to find a large green reptile resting between some branches. He had glanced down at the ape briefly, but snickered and went back to relaxing, shifting the twig in his mouth around.

"Bah! Who asked you for an opinion, anyway?!" Infernape growled and jumped up the tree, grabbing onto the branches. "Just because I'm new around here doesn't mean that I have to…wait." Staring ahead at the reptile before him, Infernape scratched his head, just under the flames that danced from above it. "You're that one that Ash used to battle in the League. And you won against that rare and powerful Pokemon, the Dark one."

"The name is Sceptile, and yes, that was me." Leaning up, Sceptile studied Infernape again, frowning and narrowing his eyes at the ape's head. "And you're going to start a fire this close to the leaves."

"Huh?"

Looking up, Infernape yelped and flailed around at the burning branches above his head. With his balance lost, the fiery ape fell from the tree as Sceptile leapt down after him, snatching Infernape before they hit the ground. Craddled, Infernape glanced up at Sceptile, who glared down at him before dropping the ape to the ground. Groaning, Infernape pushed himself up and rubbed his back.

"Are you always this polite around others, or is it just my lucky day?"

Sceptile nonchalantly uttered, "The tree is burning."

"W-What?!"

Mouth agape, Infernape watched as the tree caught fire and quickly began to burn. A stream of bubbles fired through the air and doused a large portion of the flames. Following it up was a powerful burst of water, clearing the remaining fire. Turning to the river, Infernape watched as Buizel and a red crayfish hopped from the water and made their way over.

"Hey, see?" The crayfish lifted his claws and bounced around. "I told you I could put out more fire than you!"

"That's only because I had to actually get my Water Gun ready, Corphish," snapped Buizel. "Honestly, I could take you any other day of the week."

"Oh yeah?!"

"You bet."

"Then maybe we should battle this one out!" Corphish jabbed his pincer forward at Buizel. "I'm supposed to meet Kingler for practice, but I'm sure it won't take long to beat you first."

"What was that?!"

Both Water type Pokemon stomped closer to one another, only to have vines pull them back apart. Everyone whirled around at a small, blue-green dinosaur with a bulb on his back, as he finished pulling the quarrelling Pokemon apart.

"Ok, break it up, you two," called Bulbasaur. "No battling when you're both this hot headed. Cool off a bit, then you can battle, if you're still up for it."

Bulbasaur retracted his vines as the two Water types glowered at each other, turning away in annoyance. He chuckled and shook his head.

"The feuds in this place never seem to end," sighed Bulbasaur.

"They might if you let a few of them battle for once," joked Sceptile. His smirk quickly disappeared at Bulbasaur's perturbed glare. "Well, I mean…it's not the best option, and you do a good enough job." Sceptile cleared his throat and looked away.

"If we need to be calmer for a battle…" Infernape thought for a moment and then smiled, jabbing a finger at Sceptile. "Then how about you against me, Sceptile?! I challenge you to a battle!"

"Excuse me?"

"Come on, I can take you!" Infernape's grin broadened. "Think you can handle the heat?"

"This really doesn't seem like a good idea," murmured Bulbasaur.

"Stick-in-the-mud has a point," agreed Sceptile. "Besides, there's not much for me to gain in a battle against you. I've defeated Fire types before, so that's no big deal for me. And I've taken down a Legendary Pokemon. Battling with you might be a little unfair, in fact."

"Bet you're just scared you'll get burned," taunted Infernape.

Lowering his eyes, Sceptile slightly shook his head. "Seriously? You think that will get me to battle you?"

"It was worth a shot." Infernape shrugged. "But really, I've been looking for a battle from a whole bunch of Pokemon already. And it would honestly be great to fight against a Pokemon that Ash thinks is so tough."

"Thinks?!" Sceptile's eyes snapped open as he gritted his teeth at the taken aback Infernape. "Ash doesn't just 'think' I'm tough, he _knows_ that I'm one of his toughest Pokemon available!"

"Yikes, don't get so worked up over it," chuckled Infernape. "Honestly, it's not that big of a deal, I only—"

"Passive-aggressively insulted me!" Sceptile hammered one clenched fist into his open hand. "Ok, you want to battle this badly?! Fine! I'll take you on!"

"Um…ok?" Infernape scratched behind his neck in confusion. He then glanced at Bulbasaur. "Uh…do you want to officiate for us?"

"Me? No, Bayleef wanted to meet me for gardening and—"

"Do it!" Corphish pinched his claws together and bounced around. "Come on, Bulbasaur! If you won't let all of us battle, at least stick around and judge their fight!"

"Yeah," concurred Buizel. "That gardening will still be there. I want to watch Infernape burn this gecko."

"Gecko?!"

"Ha! Sceptile will mow your monkey down!"

"Uh…that's not exactly an insult, but—"

"Fine, I'll do it," relented Bulbasaur. "But please, try to make it quick. Bayleef when she's angry isn't something I want to deal with."

"Don't worry," assured Sceptile. "This won't take long."

"Yep, I'll roast him quickly!"

Infernape grinned at Sceptile's scowl, but the reptile forced up a smirk of his own.

…

Marching over to a dirt patch with chalked borders, the two Pokemon entered the battle arena. Bulbasaur sat along the sides, using his vines to hold a green flag and a red flag. Not too far behind him, Buizel and Corphish sat on their respective ally's side, ready to cheer him on.

"You can back out whenever you like," offered Sceptile. "It's not easy to go up against one of Ash's best Pokemon, as I'm sure you're slowly becoming aware of."

"Not a chance!"

"Then it's your funeral."

"Ease up, Sceptile," cautioned Bulbasaur. "You're beginning to sound as bad as Charizard."

"He's the best battler Ash ever had, right?" Sceptile folded his arms. "Sounds like the ideal idol to follow."

"Ah…both Pikachu and I would beg to differ."

"Pikachu makes sense, but he will always be Ash's number one," relented Sceptile. "You, on the other hand, I'll need to battle—"

"Hey, hey," interrupted Corphish "You're battling that monkey, ok? We need one of us to score a win today!"

"Infernape, you better pulverize that overgrown gecko!"

"Again with gecko…" hissed Sceptile as he tugged his twig away and stuck it into his bushy tail.

"Relax, Buizel," soothed Infernape. "No need to insult Sceptile." The ape turned and smirked at his opponent. "He is a good battler, which is exactly why I want to defeat him."

Sceptile narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. "Good luck with that."

"Well, if we're done with the awful attempts at trash talking," intervened Bulbasaur, "then let's get this over with." He picked himself up and stared ahead. "This is a one-on-one battle between Infernape and Sceptile. First Pokemon to knock out his opponent will be the winner. Ready? Go!"

 **[Infernape VS Sceptile]**

As Bulbasaur raised his flags, both Sceptile and Infernape rushed forward. With a blue glow around his fist, Infernape threw a Mach Punch at his target.

Skidding and jumping away, Sceptile landed and charged across the arena, with the leaves on his arms glowing light green.

With a slice ahead, Sceptile swiped at Infernape, who flipped away from the attack.

"Is that all?" Infernape taunted.

However, Sceptile swept forward again, and sliced Infernape's arm. The ape yelped and backed away, grunting at the damage.

"You're underestimating me?" Sceptile shook his head. "That's asking for punishment."

"Oh? And what are you going to do, spank me over that?"

"If you'd like, sure." Sceptile caught Buizel's uneasy expression at his comment and shrugged. "What?"

"N…Nothing."

Quickly, Sceptile blitzed at Infernape, with a white trail of light following his body. He rammed his body against Infernape's, knocking the ape back.

"Was that a Quick Attack?" Infernape rubbed his stomach. "That's not nearly enough to stop me."

"Lots of stamina in you? Good, because I could do this all day."

"Well, come and get me, then, because I'm here all day too." Infernape gritted his teeth, forcing up a grimace. Sweat trickled under his brows as he thought: _Ugh. I don't have that much more stamina than him. And it's not a lot to begin with_.

Again, Sceptile rushed forward, the white trail chasing him. Scrambling to the ground, Infernape hastily burrowed his way under and slipped down a hole, evading Sceptile.

"Digging away from me won't save you," barked Sceptile. "Once you come back out, I'll drag you through the dirt and right back to my feet."

"Sceptile, relax," called Bulbasaur. "This isn't that serious of a battle."

"I know," agreed Sceptile in a calmed voice. "I wouldn't get to fool around this much with an actual opponent."

Bursting from the earth beneath Sceptile, Infernape punched up, shouting, "I _am_ an actual opponent!"

Sceptile faltered back, rubbing his chin from the uppercut. Swiftly, Infernape dashed at him again, hand glowing blue.

Throwing his fist, Infernape slammed a Mach Punch at Sceptile's shoulder. Clutching it, Sceptile glanced up as Infernape hammered down another punch.

Catching him this time, Sceptile grappled Infernape into place. "You've had your fun. It's my turn now." Twisting Infernape's arm backward, Sceptile then lit his arm's leaves again.

"Think I'm scared of a few pointy leaves?"

"No, I think you like playing with pointy things." Sceptile leaned in closer to Infernape. "Too bad that can be…dangerous."

Slicing across the ape's chest, Infernape cried out while strands of his white fur fell from him. Sceptile readied another Leaf Blade, clutching tighter to Infernape.

"Want to play with this again?"

Infernape thrashed against Sceptile's grip, failing to break away, causing the latter to laugh.

"Sorry, but I've got you locked nice and tight right here."

Pausing, Infernape smirked. "Yeah, you're like me: you enjoy getting too close with the other Pokemon."

Before Sceptile could question him, Infernape slammed the back of his head against Sceptile's face. Groaning and throwing his hands to his face, Sceptile released Infernape, who staggered away, holding his chest.

"Not bad." Sceptile let his hands slide away, tapped his shoulder, and nodded. "You're more fun than I was anticipating."

"So now you like playing with me?" Infernape beamed. "Because I don't think that will last."

"You'd be surprised how much punishment I can take."

"Will you two just keep fighting?!" Corphish snapped his pincers at the two Pokemon.

"Aw, what's wrong, Corphish?" Sceptile grinned. "Not enjoying trash talk?"

"It sounds dangerously close to flir…" Buizel trailed off and shook his head. "Forget it; just keep going."

"As you wish!"

Infernape jumped back and spewed a breath of fire at Sceptile, who ran from the thin flame stream. Once clear, he paused and chuckled as Infernape coughed and clutched his chest.

"Ha! That Flamethrower was too cute to be a threat!"

"You…you think that was cute?!" Infernape snorted. "Then I'll have to give you something you'll love next!"

Red flames burst around Infernape's body, coating him in a fiery aura. Sceptile's eyes widened and he jumped back as the ape leapt at him.

Skidding across the ground, Infernape pursued the reptile launching himself after Sceptile once again. The red fire glistened and changed to blue flames.

Panting, Sceptile spun around as Infernape fired at him again. Flipping into the air, Sceptile smirked.

However, Infernape rocketed into the air and crashed directly into Sceptile's body, knocking him away before the reptile crashed to the ground.

Infernape slammed down to the ground as well, with his Flare Blitz's blue embers fading. Red sparks danced around his body and Infernape clutched his shoulders, moaning in pain.

"Uh…wow." Bulbasaur shook his head. "Well, I, um, I guess this battle—"

"No." Sceptile, with a charred torso, forced himself back to his feet, teeth gritted. "I'm not…done yet."

"What?" Infernape gasped and coughed, shaking his head. "Sceptile, how are you—?"

"Oh, I'll be fine," assured Sceptile, twisting his grimace into a grin. "You, sadly, not so much."

The yellow seeds on Sceptile's back softly lit up as he whipped his leafy tail around. Bending over, Sceptile shot out several bright leaves, which burst into a flurry and flew at Infernape.

Unable to react fast enough, Infernape took the Leaf Storm directly, each leaf slicing across his body. Though not as effective as his fire was against Sceptile, Infernape staggered back and yelped.

Lifting his arms to block the rest, Infernape clenched his teeth together as the remainder of the leaves finished slicing at him.

As he dropped his arms, Infernape had just enough time to gasp as Sceptile blitzed forward, white trail behind him again. Slamming into the ape, Sceptile knocked Infernape to the ground.

"Good thing the sun's out today, too."

Sceptile's tail glittered in a white light as the sun beat down over him. Opening his mouth, he fired a white beam down at Infernape.

Barely, the ape rolled away as the Solar Beam burned down against the ground behind him. Infernape clawed at the ground and dug into it again.

With a sputter, Sceptile brushed his mouth and watched the ground. "Don't think I'm falling for this twice!"

Hearing the dirt behind him crumble, Sceptile whirled around and sliced at the rising Infernape with his leaves.

Though he blocked the attack, Infernape fell backwards and hit the ground. He backed up as Sceptile towered over him, grinning.

"Looks like I'm putting the fire out—"

Before Sceptile could finish, Infernape kicked his feet from under his legs. Balance lost, Sceptile fell forward and crashed down over Infernape.

Infernape's arms and legs shot up as Sceptile's body collided into his, knocking the air out of him. Gasping, Infernape's head fell back and he squeezed his eyes shut.

Groaning, Sceptile picked his head up and glanced down. His hands were near Infernape's face, almost cupping his cheeks. Looking down, Sceptile's lips parted at Inferape's spread legs against his thighs. Sluggishly, Sceptile pushed the rest of his body up slightly from the ground.

"Well, this can't get any more awkward."

Abruptly, Infernape's eyes flashed open and he yelped, throwing his legs up and around Sceptile's hips. Falling back, he threw his arms past Sceptile's shoulders and clutched his back.

"And, I was wrong."

Realizing what he did, Infernape panicked and flailed backwards, dropping back to the ground. Resting on his knees, Sceptile stopped and exhaled, regaining his breath. He then slid his hands behind Infernape and helped the ape back up from the ground.

"Um…thank you." Infernape giggled and scratched behind his head.

"Yeah, you looked a little helpless down there." Sceptile picked his twig back from his tail and placed it in his mouth. "So, maybe…we should take a second. And, ah, then we'll finish this."

"Is that even allowed?"

"Do you want to know what's really allowed?!"

The two jumped up and into each other, crying out. They turned to see that Bayleef had stormed over to Bulbasaur and the Water types. Shifting his gaze between her and the flags in his vines, Bulbasaur slowly released the flags and let them fall to the ground.

"Um…sorry, Bayleef." Bulbasaur nervously chuckled as he retracted his vines. "I, uh, I just kind of—"

"We talked him into it," intervened Sceptile, relaxing his grip around Infernape.

"Oh?" Just from that, the other five winced at Bayleef's harsh, icy tone. "I give up my chance to battle with Infernape, my free time altogether, because a certain _someone_ kept raving about how much help he needed with the garden, begging me to spend the day helping out, and yet, that same someone has more than enough time to watch these two sweaty fools go at it? Under guise of being a judge, right?"

"Uh…"

Bayleef leaned over Bulbasaur and glared at him. She backed up slightly and smirked.

"You're lucky I'm feeling in a bit of a merciful mood myself."

"You…are?"

"Sure." Bayleef giggled. "But, he's not."

Bulbasaur gasped at a sudden weight pressed down on his back. He turned his head and growled as a delighted, horned blue beetle sucked on his bulb.

"H-Heracross! Get off!"

"Enjoy your punishment for now," laughed Bayleef as she strode away. "I'll come get you when you're ready to help with the garden."

Annoyed, Bulbasaur whipped at Heracross with his vines, but the beetle merely waited and sucked harder on Bulbasaur's bulb again.

"Will you cut that out?!" Again, Bulbasaur lashed at Heracross.

"But…the sap…so tasty!"

Pushing Bulbasaur down against the ground, Heracross continued to suck at his bulb's sap. The other four blankly stared, uncertain of how to react. Infernape noticed his arms were still wrapped around Sceptile and he quickly pulled them away.

"This is almost as disgusting as listening to the two of you," cackled Buizel.

Sceptile blinked and turned to the weasel. "Us? What did we do wrong?"

"Come on, Sceptile," snapped Corphish. "You and Infernape went at it in all of the wrong ways!"

"How?"

"Use your imagination." Buizel shook his head and wandered off. "I'm going to need a good rinse after all of that…gross banter, or whatever you two want to call that fight flirting."

"Flirting?!" Infernape gaped. "That wasn't…we weren't…!"

"You definitely were, and it was nauseating just listening to you two." Corphish turned and scurried after Buizel. "And then you top it off by getting all wrapped up in each other's bodies at the end? Yuck."

"We were _fighting_!" Sceptile shook his fist. "Bodies get a little uncomfortably close when you fight, Corphish! You should know that by now! Get back here, you pint sized, sorry excuse for a crustacean!"

Growling, Sceptile leaned back and sat down. He tilted his head and checked on Infernape, who gawked back at him.

"Ah…they're crazy, don't you think?"

"Y-Yeah…crazy."

Lightly, Infernape touched his burning cheeks, a blush barely visible under the red parts of his face. Still, he bounced back up and briskly sped off from Sceptile.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"I, uh, I…forgot about something that I needed, to, um…I-I'll explain later, bye!"

Dumbfounded, Sceptile watched Infernape race away from him. He quietly turned to watch Bulbasaur continue to whip at a relentless Heracross.

…

About a half hour later, Bulbasaur grumbled as he dug around the garden, muttering under his breath as Bayleef gleefully strolled away, planting flowers and idly chatting with Heracross, who had taken to sucking the sap from a tree. Sceptile sat nearby, picking at the grass.

"Hey." Sceptile picked his head up and blinked at Bulbasaur, who had nudged his arm. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just sore, I think." Sceptile brushed against his slightly charred chest, knocking a few ashes off. "I should probably go wash off."

"Uh, yeah, you should have done that a while ago." Bulbasaur chuckled, but stopped once Sceptile didn't join in. "You're not ok, are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Right, ok, block at your feelings around the one Pokemon that solves everyone's fights around here for a living." Bulbasaur scoffed as Sceptile rolled his eyes. "Fine, bottle up everything."

"No, wait, you're right," caved Sceptile. "I just…I don't know, Corphish and that weasel bothered me."

"Buizel?"

"Sure, whatever."

"What did they…oh right. Their disgust about that accidental innuendo." Bulbasaur nodded "They did overreact, I think."

"Innuendo?" Sceptile turned and gave Bulbasaur a quizzical look.

"Um…you and Infernape really chose your words poorly," he admitted.

"We were _fighting_!" Sceptile folded his arms and grumbled. "We weren't thinking about what we were saying, we just…I don't know, trash talked."

"Well, it came out in all of the wrong ways."

"That's because you're all perverted!" Sceptile bit hard on his stick, and pulled his from his mouth. "Hearing things that weren't even on my mind, let alone Infernape's!"

"Maybe not, but…it's odd how he took off," observed Bulbasaur.

"And that's the other thing that's bothering me." Sceptile sighed. "He seemed all flustered after they berated us, and now I just…I don't know." He picked at the ground. "Maybe I should go apologize, or something."

"Over what?"

"Don't know, but he must be angry with me, or something," speculated Sceptile. "He seemed so panicked and hurried off after we were…holding each other…and the way I fell on top of him, and his legs flung around my hips, arms around my shoulders, and…" Sceptile's mouth dropped as he stared at the grass. "Geez, it really did get like that, didn't it?"

"Yes, it really did," laughed Bulbasaur.

"Ugh. No wonder he took off." Sceptile shook his head. "That must have seemed awful, or like I was trying to have my way with him, or something. We were even wrapping ourselves together repeatedly, and he must have thought that I was purposely seducing him."

"Somehow, I don't think that's quite it." Bulbasaur poked at his head with his vine.

"Ok, fine, but…that was awful, how we ended up. All over each other, that's so…ugh."

"Honestly, it can't be any worse than when Heracross sucks off…off of my bulb. Now wipe that stupid look from your face before I Vine Whip it off."

Sceptile rolled his eyes away as his face flushed over. Slightly, he glanced back and nervously snickered.

"And you called everyone else perverted," snapped Bulbasaur.

"Sorry. And I know, Heracross doing that annoys you." Sceptile folded his arms. "Why can't you get him to stop?"

"Well, I tried a few times, but he's so easily distracted and infatuated with sap," explained Bulbasaur. "Even as annoying as he is, I can't hurt him that badly, or Ash would be devastated. Plus, I think he's a little more durable than I care to admit." Bulbasaur huffed. "In the end, it's just something that I kind of put up with."

"Hey, do you think he happens to like you that way?" Sceptile grinned as Bulbasaur frowned at him. "Oho, maybe he just can't figure out how to tell you his feelings, so he just sucks away at your sweet sap with an unspoken passion!"

"Now you're just asking for me to hurt you."

"Ahaha! Sorry, again." Sceptile smirked. "Still, maybe you should give it a chance."

"Maybe you should take your own advice and try talking with Infernape," quipped Bulbasaur as he walked away. "Before that flower on your twig gets any bigger."

Gaping, Sceptile gazed down at his twig, which now sported a bright pink flower. Blushing furiously, Sceptile grumbled to himself as he silently studied the garden.

…

Infernape sat around a crowd of trees, leaning against a trunk and staring up at the leaves. He pulled his legs to his chest and heavily exhaled.

"Sounds like someone needs a huuug!"

Infernape yelped and whirled around to see a purple sludge blob ready to crash down over him. Something swooped by and pushed him away, rolling onto the grass with him. Rubbing dirt from his face, Infernape blinked at the purple bat as he stood up.

"Gliscor?"

"Hey Infernape." He then angrily turned to the blob, whose eyes opened up. "Muk! That was not at all conducive to the situation!"

"Aw. Sorry." Muk slouched and silently stared at the dead grass under him. "Just wanted to help."

"When I told you about this, surprising him with a hug is the last thing…oh wait." Gliscor bopped his head with a pincer and stuck his tongue out. "I wasn't supposed to let all of that out."

"Help?" Infernape lowered his eyes at Gliscor. "Just how long were you two watching me?!"

"S-Sorry, Infernape." Gliscor shrank in place as well, tearing up slightly. "Muk and I were just goofing around when we spotted you running. And then you sat here and muttered stuff to yourself and seemed all distressed, so we were trying to find away to help cheer you up."

"Oh, well…thank you. Both." Infernape smiled slightly to Muk, who picked himself back up and waved his gooey arms around. He turned back to Gliscor, who was still pouted. "Aw, come on, Gliscor. I don't want to talk about it." Still, the fanged scorpion pouted at him. "Quit it!" Even as Infernape grew more annoyed, Gliscor refused to relent. "Ooh, fine! I had a battle and now I'm all mixed up, ok?!" Infernape threw his hands up and dropped back to the ground.

"Is that all?" Gliscor smiled and patted the ape. "That's not so bad, Infernape! We've all lost battles before, so it's not—"

"I didn't lose."

"Huh? So…you're upset about winning?"

"No, the battle got cut short."

"Ah, so you're bummed that it didn't finish."

"No, no! I…forget it." Infernape folded his arms and puffed out a cheek. "Just go back to playing with Muk, Gliscor."

"I can't!" Gliscor sat down next to Infernape. "You're still upset." Muk slid over and slouched next to the pair. "Muk feels the same!"

"Great," muttered Infernape as he wrinkled his nose. "Ok, ok. Well, Buizel and…um, Corphish, I think. Anyway, they picked on Sceptile and I over how we battled each other. Things got heated."

"Well, yeah!" Gliscor laughed. "You're a Fire type!"

"Not like that," amended Infernape. "He and I got…I guess a little too close and spoke a little too…I don't know, but Buizel called it, 'flirty fighting,' or something similar." Infernape knocked on his head and snapped his fingers. "'Fight flirting!' That was it. Anyway, everything just sort of snowballed as one thing led to the next."

"Um…" Gliscor tilted his head in confusion. "Who was fighting and who flirted?"

"Hang on." Infernape pinched his brows, taking a breath in and holding it. Slowly, he exhaled to release it and nodded. "Ok, so, I went looking for a battle, and it took a while, but Sceptile finally agreed to it, or I spurred him on enough, I guess. Buizel and Corphish came to watch while Bulbasaur officiated for us." Infernape poked his hands together. "And then Sceptile and I battled, which was really intense. But, something or several things we did must have rubbed Buizel and Corphish the wrong way, and they thought we were purposely touching and flirting with each other." Sighing, Infernape shook his head before lowering it. "Anyway, Bayleef interrupted to yell at Bulbasaur for not helping her, and then Sceptile got annoyed at the others as they left, and he was insistent that we weren't a couple, or trying to be, or whatever they thought we were. But I got all embarrassed over it, so I took off."

He looked up to find Gliscor and Muk blinking, and then stared at each other.

"What?"

"Well, that was…a lot," acknowledged Gliscor. "And I didn't know you were interested in Sceptile so much."

"I'm not! Or, I mean…well, I wasn't before, but…wait, what? H-Hold on."

"You like him!"

Muk bounced around and cheered. Infernape wailed and buried his head in his hands. Promptly, Gliscor smacked Muk over his mushy head.

"Seriously, Muk! That doesn't help!"

"Aw…but he does, right?"

"Infernape?"

Picking his head up, Infernape quietly gazed at the pair. "I…I'm not sure, but I'm thinking about him now, so I…maybe?"

"Ok, then Muk was right." Gliscor patted Infernape lightly and smiled. "You should tell him how you feel!"

"N-No! Sceptile flipped out at Buizel and Corphish over that insinuation, that we were a couple! I-I can't…I mean, we were just battling, and now…"

"Sounds like Buizel and Corphish are ruining this," observed Muk.

"Yes, I do believe you're right, Muk." Gliscor poked at Infernape. "That's true, isn't it?"

"Well…I don't want them to…make fun of me." Infernape sighed. "Or, possibly, us." He groaned and hunched over. "Ugh, what if Sceptile doesn't like me at all?"

"One thing at a time!" Gliscor patted Infernape again. "First, you need to just ignore Buizel and the fish."

"He's more of a crustacean," corrected Infernape. "Which…isn't the point," he added after catching Gliscor's glare.

"Right. So, don't be bothered by the rude comments they mock you guys with," advised Gliscor. "But, if they get too annoying, tell one of the rest of us, and we can go bop them or something. I'm sure Bulbasaur could get them to stop."

"Not if Heracross is around," murmured Infernape.

"Well, then, I'll do it, if I have to," decided Gliscor. "Ok?"

"I…guess." Infernape picked at the grass. "I'm so sick of abuse, honestly."

"Don't worry, we'll keep helping you through things," reassured Gliscor. "But, the important thing is that you tell Sceptile about how you really feel!"

"Why? What if he—?"

"Doesn't like you? That's ok, then!" Gliscor's smile dropped and he stuck his tongue out while he bopped his head again. "Well, not ok, but at least you'll get it out and get over him. If you don't tell him, though, you'll never get to know."

"That might be better…"

"Nooo, give him a big hug!" Muk clapped his sludgy hands together. "Hugs always help!"

"Actually…I can't disagree with Muk on that one," laughed Gliscor. "So, how about it? Just give Sceptile a big hug and tell him how you feel! It's worth a shot."

"Uh…I don't know about the hug, or not right away, but I…ok." Infernape pushed himself up and nodded. "I guess I could…at least try, right?"

"Right, right!" Gliscor leapt up and flew up into the air, hovering around the other two. "Come on, Infernape! Go for it!"

"Yeah, go!" Muk bounced up and cheered again.

"Ok, right. Worth a shot." Infernape swallowed hard and nodded to Muk and Gliscor. "Um…thank you both. Again."

"We're just happy to help!" Gliscor and Muk smiled to each other.

"Still, thanks." Infernape heaved and shook his head. "Ok, I, uh…I guess I'll go now."

"Wait, now?"

"Well, yeah." Infernape hastily nodded. "I want to get this over with as soon as possible. Either he doesn't like me and I go punch something, or he does, and…"

"And you go from there!"

"Um, y-yeah, I, or, we…go from there."

Nodding, Infernape turned, but Muk suddenly reached out and pulled Gliscor and Infernape in for a big hug.

"Hooray! One last hug for confidence!"

"Ack! Muk!"

Gliscor and Infernape groaned against Muk's smelly and tight grip, before all three toppled back to the ground and laughed.

…

The sun slowly set as Infernape walked along the riverside, watching a few leaves brush against the water and float away. He listened to the running water brush past a few stones before turning to the orange and purple sky.

Glancing back to the water, a few flakes of ashes caught his eye and Infernape sped up, hurrying along the path. Soon, he found Sceptile standing in a shallow spot near the river, brushing the last bit of ashes away from his chest.

"Hey, Sceptile!"

Jumping a bit, the reptile whirled around at the ape, and Infernape hesitated before he shyly waved to him.

"Infernape. Uh, hi." Sceptile glanced down and picked off the last bits of ashes, sprinkling them away. "Those were a little tougher to scrub off, I'll admit."

"Those ashes? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overdo it like that."

"Nah, don't worry about it," soothed Sceptile. "Did you, uh, finish what you had to do?"

"Huh? Oh, right, that. I…yeah."

"That's good." Sceptile smiled slightly. "You took off in such a hurry before."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I just…" Infernape trailed off before sighing.

"Everything ok?"

"Sort of. I…actually, no." Infernape poked his hands together and shook his head. "Earlier, Buizel and Corphish—"

"I knew it," interrupted Sceptile. "Those two fools were so crass! Listen, don't let what they mocked us over get to you, ok?"

"That's…not entirely it," clarified Infernape. "They did, but I'll get over that. What actually bothered me more was…or, maybe not bothered, but what I kept thinking about…I wanted to…"

Puzzled, Sceptile watched as Infernape scratched at his head, and then bit lightly on his fingers.

"Um…did you eat at all today?"

"What? No. Wait, no, that's not…" Infernape stared at Sceptile's yellow eyes, softer under the setting sun. "This is…harder than I mean it to be."

"Lots of things are hard today," joked Sceptile. "Your punches, getting off those ashes, what you're trying to tell me, and how Heracross sucks on Bulbasaur's bulb. All hard." He smirked as Infernape laughed. "Does that help?"

"Somewhat." Infernape's smile faded and he gazed at the river again. "Sceptile, while we battled, I didn't mean to…whatever we did, or what we spoke about, I wasn't trying—"

"Oh, no, I wasn't either," cut in Sceptile. "Is that why you ran off?"

"Wait, huh?" Infernape pivoted back around.

"Sorry, I didn't want you to think…I wasn't sure if I caused that." Sceptile scratched behind his neck. "Really, their stupid comments made ours seem out of hand, and I didn't mean to imply anything, or…well, about, you know."

"Actually, about that." Sceptile returned his attention to Infernape, whose face was deeply flushed. "I, uh…well, they made me think…"

"Apparently, we made everyone think, just not about the right things," scoffed Sceptile. "They had all sorts of implications, and then how we ended the battle, they must have thought—"

"I started thinking about that."

"…Come again?"

"Look, I…" Infernape sighed and dropped his head. "Um…Sceptile, what they made fun of us over, I, uh…I thought it over. And, I realized I wouldn't mind if…if they were actually right about us."

"Wouldn't…mind?"

"Yeah. I, uh…I think I'd like it, actually." Infernape lifted his head and gazed up at Sceptile. "It's…I'm not sure how to go about it, but…"

"But…?"

"…I like you. In, um, that sort of way, I suppose."

Sceptile's eyes widened as Infernape turned away and scratched his arm. He stared at the river, and then glanced at the sunset behind the distant cliffs.

"If…if you don't…I'm not trying to put any pressure on you, or anything." Infernape shook his head. "Wait, no, I meant…you don't have to feel the same. I just…found out, so I'm not sure myself, but I…I just wanted to let you know, and see if, maybe you…" Infernape weakly laughed. "Um, just, uh…forget it, ha. If you don't want to see me anymore, I understand. But, I, uh, I had a lot of fun battling, so if we could—huh?"

Blinking, Infernape's vision was now covered with a bouquet of assorted flowers in front of his face. He took them and blankly studied them before turning to Sceptile. The reptile poked at his shoulder, with a heavy, dark red blush over his face.

"I agree. You were a lot of fun to battle against." Sceptile pulled out his twig and stared at the pink flower on it. "Uh…I was over by the garden, and I just…well, I was going to try to butter you up, honestly. And I picked out some tulips, roses, jasmine, and I stuck some honeysuckles in there too. They're…um." Sceptile scratched behind his head and glanced at Infernape. "They're…for you."

"…So—"

"Right, I, uh, I…wanted to give those to you. Because, I, um…I feel the same way," confessed Sceptile. "Or, how you feel about me, I feel about you."

"Really?"

"Well. M-Maybe I'm not completely sure about where I want this to go, and I had no idea that you were beginning to feel the same way, but I just…I was going to give you those." Sceptile heavily exhaled. "Anyway, I haven't been like this in…a while, really. And, I, well, last time, I got my heart broken, so I…wasn't sure if I should have…you know."

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry."

"No, no, please don't be," insisted Sceptile. "It's just…hard for me to…well…"

"Honestly, I'm not that good at opening up either," admitted Infernape. "My first trainer ended up releasing me since I was too weak under his eyes."

"That's awful!"

"It was, but…Ash took me in, and we ended up beating him during the Pokemon League." Infernape smiled. "It turned out to be a good thing, since…I've been much happier lately." He then frowned. "But, I guess…I'm apprehensive over who I like too, since I'm not as sure about my feelings being returned."

At that, Sceptile grabbed Infernape's hands and gazed into his blue eyes. "I-I won't do that, toss you aside like that. And I'm not sure about where we can go with this, but right now, I really, really do like you. S-So…I'm…we both feel the same, right?"

"Yes, we do." Infernape smiled and Sceptile followed. "I don't want to break your heart, either."

"Thank you."

"Wait, I should thank you."

The two blinked and laughed. Quieting down after a minute, Infernape wrapped his arms around Sceptile's back and gave him a big hug.

"Um…is this too quick?"

"Maybe, but…it's fine for me."

Sceptile returned the hug and pulled Infernape closer into him. They rocked with each other lightly for a bit before backing away. Stopping, Sceptile pushed himself forward and planted a kiss on Infernape's lips. Hesitating, Infernape pressed his lips back against Sceptile and they shut their eyes, moving into the kiss. Slowly, they broke apart and gazed at one another again.

"Aw, seriously?! Gross!"

The couple frowned and turned to find Buizel and Corphish making disgusted faces at them.

"So, you really did get that into each other!" Corphish pinched his claws again. "You two are crazy."

"Yeah, we are." Sceptile wrapped his arm around Infernape's shoulder. "About each other, that is."

"Bah, gay," mocked Buizel. "That just seems so unnatural, and totally wrong."

"Love is wrong?" Infernape scratched under his chin. "Huh. That's a strange way to look at the world."

"N-Not love, but…what you two…wait, what?"

"Hey!"

Gliscor flew down as Muk slid into view, both glaring at Buizel and Corphish.

"You two back off right now," threatened Gliscor, "or else!"

"Or else what?"

"Muk here will Body Slam a thousand hugs all over you two!"

"Yay for punishment hugs!" Muk bounced around and waved his arms around again.

"Or we could have a Double Battle," suggested Sceptile. "Think you could take on a Pokemon that defeated a Legendary, and the one that forced him into a stalemate?"

"Ok, hang on." Bulbasaur hurried over to the scene and barely took everything in. "What's going on here?" He glared at Buizel and Corphish. "Are you two causing trouble again?"

"Bah, forget it," snapped Corphish. "You've always had such a high opinion of yourself, Sceptile, thinking you're so cool."

"He's actually really cool," intervened Infernape. "Guess you're jealous."

"No way," barked Buizel. "Ugh, you two are perfect for each other."

Storming off, Buizel and Corphish jumped into the river and swam away. Bulbasaur turned around and glimpsed at Sceptile and Infernape's closeness.

"So…you two are giving, um, you two a shot?"

"Yeah, we are." Sceptile kissed Infernape's cheek again, while Infernape pulled him and the flowers closer. "Anything else?"

"Just that you two really could be perfect together," decided Bulbasaur. "Anyway, we need to get back to the lab, or at least a little closer before nightfall, so let's get over there for some rest."

Bulbasaur started off, leading the way. Muk bounced around and hugged Gliscor before following after Bulbasaur. Smiling at the couple, Gliscor stuck his tongue out and winked before turning to fly after the others.

Gazing to one another once more, Infernape swiftly kissed Sceptile on the lips before hurrying off after his friends. Laughing, Sceptile chased after him, while the sunset's reflection glistened over the running river, with a few leaves sliding away in the light current.

* * *

Author: Phew! And that's it for this one!

So, while I did some extensive research and fact checking on Ash's Pokemon, I realized that Infernape's story starts off pretty sad, but has a nice, happy ending. However, I also remembered that this wouldn't be Sceptile's first tale of romance, and decided to compare the two. Lo and beyond, they had a perfect level to relate on, in regards to battle prowess that covers a depth of emotional insecurity. Yaaay, feelings!

Buizel and Corphish were my selected antagonizers simply because I remembered the latter causing a good amount of trouble, and Buizel just has the fitting attitude to clash with the couple. They're kind of jerks here, but being Ash's Pokemon, there's hope for them to change.

As for the others, I figured I picked out some choice supporting cast members, my primary pick being Bulbasaur, which trickled to the others. Nope, I did not feature every last one of Ash's Pokemon, but I did throw in some references here and there.

Anyway, yeah, the winner (break-orbit) really enjoyed the story, and I double checked if I could post here. So, with confirmation, I decided to share the possible beginning of Ash's Sceptile and Infernape being paired together. Yay, obscure and rare pairings! I wonder what their ship name will be (and yes, I totally submitted for that, and it might be awful, my bad).

Feedback would be totally cool too, if you've got the time. But yeah, that's all for this one-shot. Thank you for reading!


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